Monday, September 28, 2015

Witch Wood
By Melanie Karsak
Novella Description:
Witch Wood is a tie-in novella that compliments The Harvesting Series, an award-winning dark fantasy/zombie mashup, by Melanie Karsak. Witch Wood can be read as a stand-alone or as part of The Harvesting Series.
Harm none, and be ready for zombies.

In the little town of Brighton, Amelia’s practice of Wicca marks her as a curiosity both at home and at school. But Amelia can’t change what she is. Knowing how to see auras, heal, and cast spells comes naturally to her. Only Madame Knightly, the ancient matriarch and owner of Witch Wood Estate, to whom Amelia plays caretaker, doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, the crumbling old mansion is full of oddities.
However, when modern treatments fail to make a dent in the flu outbreak sweeping the globe, those who once ridiculed her white witchcraft turn to Amelia for help. While her eucalyptus tinctures prove no more effective than western medicine, her spell-casting is another matter. The residents of Brighton soon depend on the very magic they once ridiculed to save their lives.
The Harvesting Series: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015PRL9UM/
Witch Wood: http://amzn.com/B011AF4WL6

Sample Chapter:
Chapter 1

THE AURA AROUND MRS. DELANEY had faded from vibrant green to dull, sludge-colored green-brown as the last class of the day wore down to its end. Despite the fact she was still standing at the blackboard lecturing, a patient smile on her face, her energy told another tale: she was about to drop. She turned and jotted some notes on the board. I noticed that the chalk tray had left a white line of chalk across the back of her black skirt in a none-too-flattering spot. I hoped the boys wouldn’t notice.
“Witch,” a whisper came from behind me. “Amelia…hey, witchy woman.”
Nate must have gotten bored. Instead of just texting like everyone else, he was about to launch into his tired barrage. I ignored him, hoping it would dissuade him, but pretending he didn’t exist rarely phased him. He was the glowing center of his own universe. Other people’s perceptions didn’t matter to him.
“Ah-meel-ya,” he chanted. “Witch, why don’t you let me put some sex in your hex.”
I looked at Zoey who was sitting beside me in the next row and rolled my eyes.
I was so over with this day. With half the class out sick, Nate—hipster extraordinaire and total douche—was running low on girls to hit on. Jenna and Sam, who sat behind Zoey and me, usually acted as a buffer. For some reason I never understood, they both liked Nate’s attention. But they were both absent. If I didn’t know it would come back on me tenfold, I’d cast a spell to silence his disgusting mouth. But I was a good witch, Glinda without the bubble, and I had no business casting hexes.
“Rhyming? I didn’t know you were that smart, Nate,” Zoey, who was less patient than me, shot back.
“Logan, you smell fish?” Nate whispered to Logan who sat beside him. “Zoey, close your legs.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at Logan. A newcomer, Logan had moved to Brighton at the beginning of the year. I could see him and the soft purple and indigo glow that always surrounded him.
Logan shifted uncomfortably then frowned at Nate. “Don’t be a dick. Sorry, Zoey. Nate doesn’t have any manners.”
Nate laughed. “Whatever. Oh, Edward Cullen, you’re such a gentleman,” Nate teased him. “Like Zoey and Amelia even matter.”
Since he first started school, Logan had always lingered on the outskirts of Nate’s tribe. It seemed that he wasn’t actually a jerk like Nate and his friends. And then there was the other thing about him that set him apart. He was an A student, too busy actually paying attention to what Mrs. Delaney had to say in class to be a jerk. And today, Mrs. Delaney’s lecture focused on Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
I scanned around the classroom. Of the less than a dozen students in class, half of them were on their phones. Mrs. Delaney was explaining—mainly to the board at this point—the meaning of the witches’ chant in the play.
“Hey, Amelia, can you brew me a love potion to get Jenna to suck me off?” Nate whispered.
“Could you be any more disrespectful?” Logan chided just as Mrs. Delaney, who’d finally had enough, turned and faced the class.
“In the back…shush. Now, someone tell me, which goddess is said to have been insulted by this play? Anyone actually paying attention? Which goddess cursed Shakespeare’s work?”
I glanced back at Logan through my long, wheat-colored hair. Most days we would race to be the first to answer but not today. The last thing I wanted to do was draw more attention to the fact that I knew about witchcraft. While I’d been practicing Wicca since I was thirteen, the year I stumbled across a used copy of Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham in a used bookstore, I’d always been different. Being Wiccan meant promoting peace, protecting my environment, and feeling at one with the Great Mother. The idiot behind me, however, didn’t know the difference between a devil worshipper—which I was not—and Samantha from Bewitched. And I wasn’t in the mood to explain to him that I only performed good magic, earth and healing magic.
“Zoey?” Mrs. Delaney called.
“Sorry, Mrs. D. I zoned.”
“Nate?”
“Pass.”
“Of course. Amelia?”
“I…” I began, then glanced up at her. Mrs. Delaney was, by far, my favorite teacher. In the ninth grade, she’d introduced me to Madame Knightly, the owner of Witch Wood Estate, whom I took care of three nights a week and on weekends. I was eternally grateful for the job. I’d already stashed away enough cash to pay for my first year of college. Just the week before, I’d gotten my invite to Claddagh-Basel College for an admission interview. It was really happening. I was going to study Psychology at one of the best schools in the country. And all that had happened because Mrs. Delaney, who kept crystals on her desk and wore a medicine bag around her neck, had seen something in me that the others had ignored. “Hecate,” I said then. “Hecate is the dark goddess named in the play. The editor’s notes said that Shakespeare got the Weird Sisters’ chant from a real witch and that Hecate cursed the play because of it. Some productions remove Hecate just to get rid of the jinx.”
“Exactly. Well done,” she said with a smile then glanced up at the clock. My eyes followed hers.
Thank the Goddess, the day was done.
“All right, class. Please review King’s essay on the use of symbolism in the play and compose a two-page summary.”
“You’re kidding, right? School’s gonna be closed next week,” Brant, a football player, grumbled from the front row—where his coach had mandated he sit.
“Are you really asking me that?” Mrs. Delaney replied, frowning at him. I could see her aura growing even darker, sadder. She really needed to get out of here. “Thus far, they haven’t announced a closure for Monday. Yes, we’re the last school in the county still open. But still, read, write. It won’t hurt you.”
A moment later, the bell rang.
“Whatever,” Brant grumbled under his breath then headed out the door.
“Let’s get out of here,” Zoey said. Rising, she stuffed her book into her backpack.
Nate pushed past. “Sorry,” he said as he pretended to trip, banging his crotch against Zoey’s butt.
“Screw you, Nate. Do that again, and I’ll have Amelia cast a spell to rot it off,” Zoey warned him.
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Freaks,” Nate said, glaring from Zoey to me, but I couldn’t help but see the look of fear cross his eyes. He wasn’t sure if I could really do something like that. In the end, it was better that he didn’t know I would never, ever practice dark magic. Harm none and do as you will, that is the motto of Wiccans. I wasn’t looking for trouble to come back to me.
I dug into my bag. “Almost forgot,” I said, handing Zoey as small, amber-colored vial.
“What’s this?” she asked, looking at the bottle.
“Eucalyptus and rosemary oil,” I replied. “Put it in your bath or on a cloth to inhale it. It helps keep your respiratory system clear. Should help ward off the cold going around.”
“Thanks,” she said, opening the bottle to take a sniff. “Ooh, my nose is burning.” She giggled.
Logan walked up behind Zoey and me. “Hey, Amelia…you’re organizing the Halloween dance?” he asked.
His dark hair fell over his black-rimmed glasses. He pushed it back then paused to arrange his scarf inside his heavy winter pea coat. For autumn, it was terribly cold and the reports of flu were already out of control. No wonder he was bundled up. His honey-colored eyes crinkled in the corners when he smiled at me. My knees went soft.
“Uh, yeah. We’ve just started planning. We’re still working on a theme.”
“Ms. Flynn says I need another extracurricular. Mind if I help?”
“If you want,” I replied, trying to play it cool when inside I was screaming like a tween at a Justin Bieber concert. “The next meeting is Tuesday at six. We meet down at Studio,” I said, referring to the local coffee bar where Zoey worked. When I wasn’t at Witch Wood, I spent all my time there, especially when Mom was at work. The last thing I wanted was to be penned up at home with my stepdad, Larry.
“Great. I’ll be there,” he replied then looked at the vial Zoey was holding. “So, a white witch? For real?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, I know, it’s weird, but, it’s just, you know…” I said, trailing off. It’s just what, Amelia? You’re a witch. Own it.
Logan raised an eyebrow at me.
“Yes, I’m a white witch. I do healing and stuff. All-natural lifestyle. That kind of thing.”
“Dude?” Nate called to Logan from the door.
Logan grinned at me. “You do protection spells? I need one. My sister got that flu. She was puking all night, and I hate being sick.”
“I do,” I said then arched an eyebrow at him. “You really want me to—“
“Go for it. Please.”
“Okay then. This will just take a minute.” I closed my eyes, inhaled deeply, and then tried to envision the energy field, the aura, surrounding him. I envisioned white light passing from me to him, surrounding him with a glowing white energy that would protect him. With my mind’s eye, I inscribed this light with a protection rune that glowed with glimmering blue light. In my mind, I chanted:
“Goddess Mother, may this light protect him from all harm.
May this light keep away all illness.
May this light keep him safe from darkness.
May this light bring him peace.
So mote it be.
With thanks, I pray thee.”
I exhaled then opened my eyes. I could still see the white light shimmering all around him. “Done,” I said then smiled.
Logan grinned. “That easy? Cool. I feel much safer now. Thanks, Amelia. See you next week,” he said then headed toward the door.
“What were you doing?” Nate asked Logan.
Logan shrugged off the question, not answering, and they headed down the hall.
“God, I’m crushing on him so hard right now. That was awesome. You should have seen how he was looking at you. Lu-st!” she said, emphasizing the last word in sing-song. “But I don’t get it. Why in the hell does he hang around with Nate?” Zoey asked as she pulled her long black and mermaid blue tresses out of the back of her jacket. They tumbled down her back to her waist.
“Their parents are connected or something,” I replied. “Brianna and Brian said their dads work together. And he’s new. He doesn’t know better yet. You heard him call Nate out. He’s not like them.”
“Well, he’s definitely into you,” Zoey said as we moved toward the door.
“Na. I’m just a curiosity.”
“Did you even register what just happened? All guys secretly dig the weird girls, but I think Logan actually likes you.”
“You think?” My heart slammed in my chest.
“Guess you’ll find out Tuesday.”
“So mote it be,” I said with a wink.

About the author:

Melanie Karsak is the author of the bestselling series The Airship Racing Chronicles, The Harvesting Series, and numerous other works. She grew up in rural northwestern Pennsylvania and earned a Master's degree in English from Gannon University. A steampunk connoisseur, Shakespeare nerd, white elephant collector, and zombie whisperer, the author currently lives in Florida with her husband and two children. She is an Instructor of English at Eastern Florida State College.

CHECK OUT MY AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE FOR OTHER WORKS
MELANIE KARSAK ON AMAZON:
HTTP://WWW.AMAZON.COM/MELANIE-KARSAK/E/B009DKGKQG/

Author Interview:
1. It's almost Halloween! What's your favorite witch movie or novel?
I like my witches a little old fashioned. I would start with The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley to see the roots of the modern pagan movement. In terms of movies, I would definitely avoid seeing “The Blair Witch Project” again because I totally puked my guts out midway through that cult classic, but I like something light like “Practical Magic” as well.

2. What was the inspiration for your witch novella?

The Harvesting Series is a genre mashup. It begins like a classic zombie horror story then the series begins to slowly reveal that there are other supernatural forces in our world…vampires, fey shifters, and so on. These dark forces have been trying to exterminate us for eons, and they finally discovered a way by causing a virus that turned mankind into zombies. Along the way, some people with special powers emerge…a medium, a tarot reader, and in this novella, a white witch named Amelia. Mankind is about to make their last stand, and they are going to need Amelia’s help.

3. Tell us about your main character: white witch, dark witch, or something in-between?
Amelia is a Wiccan, a white witch. She’s someone who has a special gift. She can see, and heal, people’s energy, their auras. She’s also not bad at casting spells and doing herb work. Her special talents have always set her on the outskirts in the past, but that’s about to change.

4. Cast your characters. If your novella was made into a movie, who would play your main characters?

For fun, check out the image graphic I made!

5. Do you believe in magic?

Yes, I do. I do believe people have the ability to use energy to influence their environments in positive or negative ways.

6. What else should we know about your novella?

This novella is a tie-in for my larger series, but it hold its own as a stand-alone. We will see Amelia face the early days of the outbreak and how she and her friends handle that situation. There is an epilogue at the end of the novella that features characters from the main series, so if that strikes your fancy, check out The Harvesting after you read Witch Wood to get started!

Synopsis:
A Plague Scarier than Death
Alice and the Pillar have to stop a Wonderland Monster who’d lashed out an incurable disease onto the world. Their biggest challenge is that the world loves this monster so much.
A Cure Larger than Life
The only way to save the world is to travel to the other side of the globe, and peek into one of Lewis Carroll and the Pillar’s darker pasts.
A Truth Madder Than Fiction
This time, the price of saving the world is too high. Alice will have to live with the consequences of the maddest logic of the world surrounding her.
Will Alice find who the Pillar really is? What he wants? Is she brave enough to handle the one Wonderland Monster she’d thought was a good friends? And even so, is the world ready the truth?

“She’s not my daughter.” The Pillar purses his lips. He’s pissed at me. I know it. But you know what? I love the mushrooms’ effect. Because I don’t freakin’ care. “Don’t pay attention to her.”
“I’m beginning to lose my patience,” the machine gun man says. “You don’t know the password, and your daughter is a lunatic.”
“I told you she isn’t my daughter,” I hear the Pillar say while I’m trying to catch a diamond from the sky. “And I don’t know the answer to your puzzle. Divide a loaf by a knife? What kind of mathematical question is that?”
“Wrong answer.” The man is about to shoot the Pillar while I’m chasing stars.
This is when I find myself standing before the Pillar to protect him. “You will not shoot my father!” I have no idea what I am saying, or why I am saying it. It’s strange that in the middle of my hallucination I care for the Pillar.
“Tell her to move, or I will shoot you both,” the machine gun man warns.
Then another totally bonkers thing happens. This time it’s too insane to swallow.
“Tell you what? You look like you’re itching to shoot someone today,” the Pillar says, pushing me away toward the man. “Why not shoot her, and let me pass?”
Suddenly, I am two feet away from the machine gun itself, unable to determine if what I just heard was part of my hallucination or for real.
My attempt to turn back and confront the Pillar goes out the window when the machine gun man decides he’s had it with me.
He shoots me straight in the chest.
”

Expert 2:
“Have you ever jumped out of a plane in a parachute, down to meet up with people who’d take selfies of your blood on their faces for breakfast?
I am doing it right now. And guess what, it’s nighttime, so not only am I free-falling, but I am also doing it in the dark. That’s what I call a bonus.
Throwing away the Pillar’s goggles, I hear the plane explode in midair above me.
Oh my god, this is for real!
“I’ve always wanted to blow up my employees,” the Pillar shouts all the way down. I am not sure how I can hear him. “But you’ll be fine. Just pull the red lever when I tell you to.”
In spite of all the madness, I feel unexpectedly fine up here in the air. Fine is an understatement. I feel euphoric. I want to feel like this every day. It’s ridiculous how much I am enjoying this, although I may get face-palmed by the earth in a few seconds.
Mary Ann, also known as Alice Wonder, 19 years old, dead and gone. I imagine the scripture on my grave says. But who cares? She was mad anyways.
Suddenly I realize that the madness hasn’t started yet. Not at all.
Down below, I can see something glittering. The vast land where we’re landing is nothing but an endless field of ridiculously over-sized mushrooms.
Big mushrooms growing everywhere, whitening up the black of the night.

AUTHOR BIO:
Insanity 4 is available for pre-order http://www.amazon.com/dp/B013JAUABG

Cameron Jace is the bestselling author of the Grimm Diaries and Insanity series. A graduate of the college of Architecture, collector of out-of-print books, he is obsessed with the origins of folk tales and the mysterious storytellers who spread them. Three of his books made Amazon’s Top 100 Customer Favorites in Kindle 2013 & Amazon’s Top 100 kindle list. Cameron lives in California with his girlfriend. When he isn’t writing or collecting books, he is playing music.

Synopsis:
P.J. Stone gets the answers to all her questions, but will she be able to handle the truth?
Bryn is gone, Jenna isn’t herself, and the world has been taken over by the alien Riders. The only constant in P.J.’s life is Khol, but even he might not be able to help pick up the shattered pieces of her existence. Will P.J. be strong enough to face her destiny when the time comes? Or will she lose everything, herself included?

1) “I’m not Bryn,” Khol added, causing white-hot anger to race through my veins.
“I know that!” I screamed, pulling away from him. “What the hell is that even supposed to mean? As if I could forget and confuse the two of you?”
Khol’s illuminated eyes met mine steadily. “Because he left you. I won’t.” He continued to stare into my eyes. “I’ll never leave you, no matter what I say. Bryn left you even though he said he never would.”
“Shut up!” I screeched. “You have no right to say such things!”
“You mean the truth? I’ve never spoken anything but the truth to you, regardless of whether or not you choose to believe it.”
My fire magic erupted from my hands, coursing up my arms. “Stay back!” I yelled instinctively.
Khol pulled me into his arms without fear, my flames causing no more harm to him than they did to me. “You can’t burn me. And even if you could, I would walk through the flames of hell just to hold you.”
His words doused my flames and the anger that caused them. “I hate you,” I said without any real emotion, sagging into him.
“And even if that were true, I still wouldn’t leave you, my little queen.”
The rollercoaster ride of my emotions, combined with the burst of fire magic left me feeling drained and dizzy. My eyes slid shut against their will. Khol lifted me up, placing me back on my bed, and covered me with my comforter. His heated lips skimmed my forehead briefly just as sleep pulled me under.

2) I bit the inside of my cheek, sending up a silent prayer of thanks that I didn’t have to look Khol in the face for this conversation. Somehow it made it easier for me. “So you’re okay with not claiming me?”
His chest heaved under my head as he sighed deeply. “No. I don’t think okay is the right word for it but…I’ll survive.”
“I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “I don’t wanna hurt you—I’ve never meant to hurt you and yet I keep doing it over and over again—hurting you.” Tears gathered at the corners of my eyes.
“If you were anyone but you I would never have fallen in love with you. And of course you hurt me…that’s what you do because you’re young, and impulsive, and you’re always following your heart.” Khol paused as if to gather his thoughts. “I just keep hoping one day your heart will lead you to me. Just like mine led me to you.”
My heart always broke a little for him when he was like this…so open and vulnerable. It was when he was demanding and possessive that made it easy for me to pull away from him. But when he was like this, I could almost see my heart leading me to him one day, despite the pain I still felt over Bryn’s loss. “Khol—” I started, but he didn’t let me finish.
“I know now is not the right time—of course it never seems to be the right time but—” He pulled me away from his chest so he could gaze into my eyes. His face appeared so young in that moment—young, and hopeful, and absolutely beautiful. “I love you. And I need to tell you not just so I’m sure you understand, but to unburden the weight those words put on my heart.” He stroked the back of his knuckles down the side of my face. “I love you,” he repeated, his gaze locked with mine.

The tears that had been pooling in my eyes finally spilled, leaking down my cheeks. “I love you too—just not the way you want. Bryn was the love of my life, and whether you wanna hear this or not, he took a part of me with him when he died. I’ll never be able to be what you want me to be to you.”
“For now,” Khol whispered softly.

3) I became fully aware of my actual surroundings again. “Damn,” I muttered to myself. “I really need to learn how to control my powers, or be more careful when I ask questions.”
“I wish you hadn’t been shown that,” Khol grated. “There are some things that are not meant for you to know, and things I don’t wish to revisit.”
“So that’s why you hate black dragons so much, because one of them raped your mother?” It all made complete sense now. Of course Khol would hold some kind of small resentment from his childhood. And obviously Khol didn’t have a loving relationship with his brother as his father had wished. Khol said they didn’t get along, which led me to wonder, why?
“Stop trying to analyze me,” Khol demanded harshly. “I won’t speak of such things. That is all in a part of my past I don’t wish to revisit.”
“But I wanna know you Khol, all of you.” As soon as I said the words, I realized they were true. There was still so much about Khol that was a mystery to me. Sure I knew the most important part, that he was trustworthy, but what about all the rest?
“I can’t,” Khol rasped. “If you care for me at all, my little queen, you won’t ask me to revisit that painful part of my history.”
My heart clenched at the raw pain in his eyes. “Fine. I’ll let it go.” For now.
Khol eyed me warily, probably sensing that I only planned to drop the subject for the immediate future. “Please shower, eat, and whatever else you need to do before we leave. You have an hour until I return for you.” He then shifted out of the room leaving me alone with my thoughts.
Touchy much? I guess it was okay for him to pry into every little aspect of my life, but not for me to do the same. Right. That’s about to change. I will be getting all the answers I want, whether Khol likes it or not.

4) I glanced over at Morag who was bouncing with the beat and seeming a little too comfortable with the club for someone who hadn’t been out in the real world for as long as she claimed. She leaned over and yelled in my ear, “This is amazing! Is this the kind of thing I’ve been missing?”
“This is not amazing!” I yelled back, rolling my eyes at her. Who is the ancient dragon out of the two of us anyways?
“Point one of them out to me!” she yelled in response, ignoring my obvious distain for the club.
Okay. So she brought me to the club so I could point one of the Riders out to her. Do Riders like to dance? Not really sure what her plan was, I decided to just go with it. “Yeah, hold on,” I mumbled, pretty sure she wouldn’t be able to hear me over the music. I scanned the clubbers who were writhing around on the dance floor, and hissed in a breath. Yep…apparently Riders do like to dance…a lot. Almost every single human on the dance floor had one of them inside of their bodies.
Morag’s hand touched my arm. “Well?” she yelled.
“Take your pick!” I said, motioning to the throng of enthusiastic dancers in front of us.
She quirked an eyebrow at me in surprise, then nodded in understanding. “We need to isolate one of them. Get him or her away from the crowd.” I scrunched my face at her and widened my eyes. What did she expect me to do? She was the dragon lady with a plan. Obviously noting my snarky facial expression Morag decided to take matters into her own hands. She moved forward on the dance floor, bouncing to the music again. Before I had time to blink she was sandwiched in between too hot guys.

5) “Been waiting for me I see.” I smirked at Bryn’s father, raising my hands up to hip level while letting my dragon fire magic rise into my palms.
His eyes briefly flicked down to the means of his eminent demise before he met my gaze. “I knew you were looking for me, and I knew you would find me.”
“So you know that I’ve come to kill you then? Good to know I don’t have to explain it to you first.” I raised my hands, about to set him ablaze, when Khol stepped in behind me to whisper in my ear.
“Think about this. Please.”
“I have thought about it, and I’m done thinking, Khol.” I let my fire erupt from my palms, and it quickly engulfed its target—the man that raised Bryn as his own. He screamed as the white-hot flames hovered over his skin, kissing it gently at first, before curling its unyielding fingers into his tender flesh. It blackened quickly, and the Rider inside screamed along with its host, trapped and dying inside the prison of burning skin.
I watched with grim fascination as Bryn’s murderer burned alive. The scene was almost macabre, and yet the smell of charred flesh intermingled with the agonizing screams, instead of acting like balm to my pain, caused me to suddenly feel sick. A wave of nausea slammed into me, and sweat trickled down my spine. I forced myself to remain facing the scene until the scorched body dropped to the ground, still smoking. He was dead, and so was the Rider inside of him. Satisfaction was fleeting as guilt settled in its place. Maybe I could have saved Bryn’s father. Collateral damage, I rationalized. He had to die.
“There’s no one else in the building,” Khol said when I finally turned away from the blackened ashes that used to hold not one, but two lives. “They must have hoped that once you killed him you would be satisfied. They clearly sent him to his death.”
“And he went like a good little soldier? Just like that? That must mean they finally realize what a threat we really are, and they gave us what we wanted, hoping to appease me.”
“Or they just don’t want to be bothered anymore.” Khol wrapped me in his arms, shifting us out of the building just as a thick black smoke began to pour from the ceiling.

AUTHOR BIO:

D.T. Dyllin is a bestselling author who writes both paranormal and contemporary romance. Anything with a love story is her kryptonite. Her obsession with affairs-of-the-heart is what first drove her to begin twisting her own tales of scorching romance.

D.T. was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Black & Gold for life, baby!) She now lives in Little Rock, Arkansas with her husband and two spoiled German Shepherds.

Synopsis:
How long can a monster stay hidden in plain sight?
Seventeen year-old Hope Nicholas has spent her entire life on the run. But no one is chasing her. In fact, no one even knows she exists. With her mom, she’s traveled from town to town and school to school, barely staying long enough to meet anyone, let alone make friends. And she’ll have to keep it that way. It’s safer.
When her mother is brutally ripped away from her, Hope’s life shatters. Is this the fulfillment of Apollo’s curse, murder from the shadow monsters of the Underworld, or have the demigods finally found her? Orphaned and alone, Hope flees again, but this time there’s no one to teach her who to trust—or how to love.
Set in a universe where mythology is alive and well in the modern world, Curse of the Sphinx irresistibly blends action, suspense and romance.

Excerpt 1
A warm breeze tickled the air, bringing with it the smell of honeysuckle and sunshine. A flash of light momentarily blinded him, and when Athan’s vision cleared Apollo stood in the doorway of the kitchen. The blond god of light, prophecy, and medicine arrived barefoot. His skin was sun kissed, and he wore a pale linen skirt trimmed in gold that fell to his knees. A bronze sash hung from his left shoulder to his right hip. Apollo was muscular, and his face was both beautiful and terrifying.
“Foolish girl.” His harsh words seemed at odds with his melodic voice.
The woman turned, and the phone slipped from her fingers.
“It is fulfilled.” He stepped toward her, his lips flattened in accusation. “You did not even give me a chance. One rash decision, and your fate was sealed. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, I can do. Do you understand?” His nostrils flared. “I would have made you happy.”
With a moan, she sank to the floor and buried her face in her hands.
Excerpt 2
Hope looked up from the bouquets to see the shadows at the back of the stall shift. A short man dressed in black advanced, his step both graceful and predatory
This was not the same man she had seen by the Fish Market earlier, and yet his movements were eerily similar, as were his pale skin and dark eyes.
Her heart rate doubled, and instinctively, she stepped back. Her conversation with Priska came crashing back to her. She knew what this was.
“Leto! Hope!” Priska’s petite figure pushed through the crowd toward them. Time seemed to slow.
Leto took the change from the vendor and turned toward her best friend, her expression morphing from excitement to terror. The paper-wrapped bouquet slipped to the ground.
Hope’s eyes shifted from her mother to her aunt, and her muscles tensed even as her vision tunneled. Out of the corner of her eye, the dark figure was coming straight for them. She suppressed the cry that bubbled up her throat.
Priska crashed into them, grabbing at both of them with shaky limbs. Her head jerked side to side, her eyes bulging. “Holy Hades! WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL THE GODS ARE YOU DOING HERE?”

AUTHOR BIO:

Raye Wagner grew up in the suburbs of Seattle, the second of eight children, and learned to escape chaos through the pages of fiction. As a youth, she read the likes of David Eddings, Leon Uris, and Jane Austen. Inspired by a fictional character, Raye pursued a career in nursing, and thought to help the world one patient at a time.
One summer afternoon, a plot dropped into her head, and she started writing.
Raye enjoys baking, Tae Kwon Do, puzzles, and the sound of waves lapping at the sand. She lives with her husband and three children in Middle Tennessee.

Origin of the Sphinx is her first publication, and the beginning of the Sphinx series.

You can connect with Raye Wagner via her website: www.rayewagner.com , or on Facebook.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Synopsis:
Fennel and Peree are finally where they’ve worked ceaselessly to be: together and safe from the Scourge in the protected village of Koolkuna. But on the day of their partnering ceremony the children of the village are stolen away—Fenn’s loyal companion, Kora, among them.
Fenn wants to bring the children home, especially as the villagers seem to blame Peree and her for the tragedy. Only since the death of her own family, she’s terrified that a wrong move on her part will lead to the loss of others she loves.
Despite her apprehension, Fenn and Peree join a small search party led by rival Kaiya, the one person who stands a chance of finding the children thanks to her mysterious past. As they travel away from the safe waters of Koolkuna and into the Scourge-infested wilds, Fenn endures Kai’s scorn, her subtle designs on Peree, and the squabbling of the group. But nothing in her life so far has prepared her for the fierce warrior women who will steal others’ children to preserve their own existence—the Fire Sisters.
If Fenn is to survive the threat of the Scourge, rescue the children from the Sisters, and have a hope of making a life with Peree in Koolkuna, she must face her fear of failure and loss and become the leader she’s destined to be.
Read THE FIRE SISTERS, the thrilling conclusion to the bestselling young adult fantasy Brilliant Darkness series! There are three novels and two short stories in the series. The first novel, The Scourge, was a finalist for the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Award.
RECOMMENDED SERIES READING ORDER:
The Scourge
The Keeper (novella)
The Defiance
The Gatherer (novella)
The Fire Sisters

“We lost them.” Derain’s voice buckles with grief. “They left one woman behind to fend us off with her arrows, and then she slipped away in the shadows of the branches, moving like the wind. We searched, but we couldn’t find them again.”
“Then we have no time to lose,” Nerang says. “A search party will leave as soon as possible. Who will go?”
There are a few declarations from the group. I hear Derain, and a woman’s high voice, like birdsong, that I think belongs to Amarina. I worked with her in the gardens. She sounds as breakable as a thin stalk of the maidengrass that grew around our water hole at home, but Kadee told me she’s a skilled tracker and woodswoman who can coax fire out of little more than a handful of damp kindling.
“My brothers and me are going for sure,” Moray growls. I don’t trust them much, but they’re tough and cunning. We need whoever can help bring Frost and the children home.
“I’ll go.” My voice is strong, decided. I feel better for saying the words.
Peree squeezes my shoulders. “I will, too.”
I’m afraid to enter an unfamiliar forest, chasing after a group of kidnapping warrior women. I’m no fighter.
But I want to go for Kora and her family. They were the first to befriend Peree and me when we washed up in Koolkuna, helpless as babies.
I want to go for Thrush, Moon, and Petrel. I know all too well how it feels to lose a brother.
I want to go for Frost. Pregnant and afraid, she risked her father, Osprey’s, rage to free Eland and me when we were trapped in the Lofty trees.
I want to go for Nerang, who saved our lives, and for the anuna, who took us in, even if some might unfairly blame us for this tragedy now.
And… I want to go for Eland. I couldn’t save him. I can still save these children.
Everyone has done so much for us. How can I sit here, enjoying the protection and comforts they secured for us, hoping someone else will help?
I can’t.
I’ll go, and I’ll do whatever it takes to find Kora and the others and bring them home.

“The Sisters were something else, Fenn,” Peree says. “All painted white. Armed to the teeth. And that scream… Thrush went white as a stone.”
I won’t forget the Sisters’ battle cry any time soon. “Why didn’t the children cry or shout? Why couldn’t I hear them at all?”
He lets out a long breath. “I don’t know. They weren’t gagged or anything. But they looked odd. Kind of… slack-faced.”
I shiver, and he rubs my arms.
“It reminded me of a story Kadee told me once," he says, "about a man who came to a village and, at the request of the people, played his pipes to lead all the rats that had been bothering them away. But once the rats were gone, the people wouldn’t give the piper what they promised him in return. So the next night, he came back, played his pipes, and took all their children away. Only three children remained behind to tell the villagers what had happened. One was lame, and so couldn’t follow the other children. One was deaf, and so couldn’t hear the music. And one was blind and couldn’t find her way.”
I make a face at that. “What did the people do?”
“They begged and pleaded with the piper to give their children back, but he was angry, and he wouldn’t.”
I sigh. “Peree, I wish Kadee would teach you some new stories. Ones with happy endings.” I start to move away. “We should get ready.”
“Wait.” He draws me back into his arms. “The timing could be better, but… I don’t know when I’ll have you to myself again.”
He kisses me.
We’ve shared a lot of kisses now—sweet, soft, tender, steamy, seductive, intense. I never knew there were so many kinds. This one starts slow and builds, like a fire catching. My legs go weak, and my insides turn to liquid.
I press myself against him, wanting no distance between us. His back is muscled under my hands, and his slim hips fit well against my own. His sweet honeysuckle scent makes me dizzy. If only we could lose ourselves in each other, forget everything and everyone else… let it all slip away in the heat of our passion.
For a moment, I let myself pretend we can.

AUTHOR BIO:

A.G. Henley is the author of the BRILLIANT DARKNESS series. The first novel in the series, THE SCOURGE, was a finalist for the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Award.

A.G. is also a clinical psychologist, which means people either tell her their life stories on airplanes, or avoid her at parties when they've had too much to drink. Neither of which she minds. When she's not writing fiction or shrinking heads, she can be found herding her children and their scruffy dog, Guapo, to various activities while trying to remember whatever she's inevitably forgotten to tell her husband. She lives in Denver, Colorado.

Hell should have killed Chase Winters when it had the chance. Now, it’s too late. He is coming for them—all of them. And he won’t stop until he gets what he wants. Angel. Chase will be damned before he lets Hell take the only thing that matters in his life.

Angel Morgan is as feisty as ever—more so. She is embracing the darker side of being other than human. The line between good and bad has blurred, and even if Chase can find a way to bring her back, that kind of betrayal leaves nasty scars.

In the most sensual and action-packed installment yet, the world is crumbling down around them, and the stakes are higher than ever. They must do whatever it takes to rid Earth of demons. One thing is clear. Their love will either save them or destroy them all. No matter the outcome, lives will never be the same

Award-winning and Bestselling author J.L. Weil writes Teen & New Adult Paranormal Romances about spunky, smart mouth girls who always wind up in dire situations. For every sassy girl, there is an equally mouthwatering, overprotective guy. Of course there is lots of kissing. And stuff.

Most of her books are for ages 16+. They usually have what she considers the good stuff - sexual content (oh yeah) and swearing. You have been warned ;)

An admitted addict to Love Pink clothes, raspberry mochas from Starbucks, (yum!) and Jensen Ackles (double yum!). She loves gushing about books and Supernatural with her readers.

Deep down, I knew everything wasn’t hunky-dory. She wasn’t magically better, but how convenient the mind worked to get what it really wanted.

And oh, I wanted her.

There was no denying that every fiber of my body wanted this. It had been weeks since my lips had touched hers, and the hunger came on swift and strong. I ached inside. Ached for the physical touch of her skin, of her soft, berry-flavored lips.

Using my tongue, I parted her lips and plunged, deepening the kiss. A thousand fires ignited inside me, joining into one flame I couldn’t contain. I was drowning in the sweetest fire. My hands inched under her shirt, splaying over her lower back. The world didn’t seem so screwed up when Angel was kissing my brains out. It was the greatest buzz.

She pulled back just slightly, her eyes capturing mine, and then she cupped the back of my neck, reclaiming the distance. Damn. She kissed me in a way that put all others to shame. It would have made the Angel I loved blush. There was nothing innocent or sweet as she nipped my lower lip, and I swore I tasted blood.

Her breathy moan nearly undid me, yet it was the wiggling of her hips that sent me over the edge. Our hearts sped up. I totally took the kiss there, throwing every worry and fear into it. It was then I felt the sudden change in her, but I was powerless to pull away. My demon was screaming, “Yes, yes, yes!” He loved the darker side of Angel, and it was tearing me in two. The struggle between my demon and me was the hardest I’d ever had to deal with.

I gripped her hips and pushed back. Her eyes. They were dark in the shadowy light, but the glimmer of red was undeniable.

Lisa Mortan’s ideal life crumbles when her rich and powerful fiancé demands she ends an unwanted pregnancy. With no job or social support, she flees to a small town in hopes of finding a good family for her unborn baby, but instead finds a man who is as broken as she is.

Eric Gaylord returns to his home town for a respite after a tragic loss, but when his spitfire mother takes on an unknown woman as a business partner, he is forced to face the nightmare he’d left behind or risk losing the one woman who could heal his heart.

Ciara Knight writes with a ‘Little Edge and a Lot of Heart’ with her contemporary and paranormal romance books. Her most recent #1 Amazon bestselling series, Sweetwater County, has topped the charts and received acclaimed reviews. Her international best-seller, Pendulum scored 4 stars from RT Book Reviews, accolades from InD’Tale Magazine and Night Owl Top Pick. Her young adult paranormal series, Battle for Souls, received 5 stars from Paranormal Romance Guild and Night Owl’s Top Pick, among other praises.

Eric’s pulse raced at the black and blue mark, shaped like fingers, which Lisa attempted to cover. Clenching his teeth, he averted his gaze. Based on the size of the marks, a man had done it. Was she attacked? A boyfriend? Perhaps that was why she came to Sweetwater, to hide from an abusive husband. He reached out for a muffin, discreetly scanning her left hand. No wedding ring. Not even a tan line.

This was none of his business. Mom had decided to take on this venture, as insane as it was. Starting a business with a woman that she’d never met outside of cyberspace.

His mother had been right about one thing, though. Lisa Mortan was beautiful. Stuffing another muffin into his mouth, he concentrated on the warm, butter-nutty flavor and forced the thought of Lisa and her light floral fragrance from his mind.

“Thanks so much for helping unpack all of our merchandise,” Lisa said, her voice soft yet not wimpy or chirpy.

“My pleasure. It’s kept Mom busy…which is a good thing. The idle hands of an energetic woman, particularly when it’s your mother, are dangerous,” he teased.

His mother brought the coffee pot to the table. “Lisa just arrived from New York. Seeing as how she’s new in town, perhaps we could all get together for dinner and get to know each other better.”

“I need to return to the office.” Eric stood and nodded to Lisa, attempting to ignore her full lips, and big bright eyes. She pushed from the table to stand as well and her coat fell open, revealing the longest legs he’d ever seen. The heels she wore only accentuated every inch of them. Straight chestnut colored hair completed the look, shining under the Halogen pot lights he’d installed last week. “It was a pleasure, but I’m afraid I have a client meeting tonight. Don’t let Mom work you too hard.”

His mother narrowed her eyes with that go-ahead-and-run-away-coward look she’d perfected. Of course, even he had to admit she was right, but it didn’t matter. The last thing he wanted was a woman in his life. Not after what happened with his last girlfriend.

“I’ll walk you out,” his mother offered.

He thought about dissuading her, but she wouldn’t listen anyway. With one last glance at the beauty standing in the middle of the kitchen, he bolted, with a promise to bury himself in work and stay away from Lisa Mortan.

“I told you she was beautiful,” his mother whispered.

“Cultured, long legs, smart, and don’t forget educated. Yes, I’ve heard it all. A few times. It doesn’t matter. I’m not interested,” Eric barked. He didn’t mean to be rude, but Judy Gaylord needed a firm hand or she’d take over quick.

“I’m just saying.” His mother shrugged in a careless gesture.

Eric halted at the front door, clutching the handle. “Don’t. I’m not ready. I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready.”

His mother’s small hand rested between his shoulder blades. “It’s been almost two years. It’s time to let her go.”

“No. I-I can’t.” He turned the knob.

“It wasn’t your fault. You need to stop blaming yourself.”

“Yes, it was. I ignored the woman I claimed to love, and when she needed me most, I wasn’t there.”

Welcome in the holiday season with 19 heartwarming and wholesome novellas from New York Times, USA Today, national bestselling, and award-winning authors.

Sweet Christmas Kisses 2 takes you from the Smoky Mountains to Florida’s sun-drenched beaches, from the Italian Alps to Paris, France, and even to a quirky little town in Arizona. The Sweet Christmas Kisses 2 collection features all-new, stand-alone stories that are sure to make you laugh, sometimes bring tears to your eyes, but always put you in the Christmas spirit. Foreword by New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne.

~*~

Christmas Papa by Mona Risk
Living for three years in her stepmother’s respected house helps Monica forget the horror of her youth and reform her wild streak, and even dream of a normal life, similar to her stepsisters’, with a loving husband and children. Geez, she’s pretty enough to attract any man she wants, but to keep him is a different ballgame. The moment they learn of her past or meet her adorable twins, they feel the urge to move two-thousand miles away. Until Michael kisses her…

Gingerbread Kisses by Beate Boeker
Carol spends Christmas at the luxurious Hotel & Spa “Dolomitissimo” in the snowy Alps of Italy where she’s busy creating gingerbread men as name cards for her younger sister’s wedding. When things start to go wrong, she finds help in the form of Tom, the attractive hotel manager, but then, her sister manages to create havoc and Carol has to fight for her happiness.

Boycotting Christmas by Melinda Curtis
Bachelor Nick Santolli needs someone to help him give his niece a Christmas to remember. Back in the day, no one did Christmas better than Joy Encastle. But times have changed and Joy would prefer to boycott the festivities this year.

A Christmas to Remember by Denise Devine
Katie McGowan is returning home from a business trip when a blizzard forces her to take refuge at Lakewood Resort and miss celebrating Christmas with her family. The resort is overflowing with people, including Ryan Scott, an avid snowmobiler who’d come to Lakewood to escape the holidays. Ryan and Katie join forces to help others in need and learn the true meaning of Christmas.

An Angel for Christmas by Raine English
Alexa Stevens needs a job, or she and her daughter might wind up living out of the car. Blake Collins needs a nanny to help with his spoiled ten-year-old. What seems like the perfect match turns out to be anything but when the two girls and a rambunctious mutt create havoc at Christmas.

The Cowboy’s Christmas Bride by Aileen Fish
When veterinary student Tara seeks shelter in a snowstorm with handsome rancher Dylan, she quickly writes him off as boyfriend material since he’s more temperamental than an unbroken horse. Thanks to a job lined up half a state away, she’s not even tempted by a friend’s request that she move to White Oak, until she learns what has damaged Dylan’s spirit. Will a sickly calf and the magic of Christmas help her heal Dylan’s heart?

Lucky Break Christmas: Second Honeymoon by Patricia Forsythe
Lily is convinced that her new marriage to Marc is cursed because of a string of fiascoes. Marc knows she’s wrong. It takes the intervention of three body-building wedding planners and most of Lucky Break to change her mind.

Beach Walk by Grace Greene
Twelve years earlier, Kelli, a teenage runaway, was taken in by a kind woman named Margie who gave her a home, and safety and security. When Margie dies, her long lost nephew and only blood relative, arrives with plans of his own. Kelli loves her life at Emerald Isle, but how far will she go to keep it, or will Christmas bring a change of heart?

An Irish Christmas Blessing by Roxanne Rustand
When Eve travels to Ireland to run an old friend’s quaint village bookshop over the Christmas holidays, the trip is a dream come true—all the more because of the beautiful Irish countryside and the quirky locals in the village. And then there’s the charming, enigmatic stranger who just might steal her heart…

Christmas Wedding by Magdalena Scott
Jim Standish is ready—right this minute—to marry the love of his life, but Melissa Singer wants the day to be one they’ll look back on forever. Planning and execution time: 25days. Will it be possible to create the perfect Christmas Wedding?

Finding You at Christmas by Kristin Wallace
After years of looking out for everyone else, preacher’s daughter Janie Worthy is ready to get a life of her own. A stalled car and a stranger on a motorcycle puts that plan in a tailspin…and leads to the best Christmas present she could ever find.

Christmas Laurel by Christine Bush.
Female army veteran Laurel Covington and her retired bomb dog have retreated to a cabin in North Carolina’s Smoky Mountains. She’s dealing with PTSD and a mind full of ugly war memories, and wants nothing more than solitude, quiet, and an escape from the clamor of Christmas. But then she meets the tall handsome mountain man who shares the mountain, and who has his own ghosts from the past to put to rest. Sometimes, the true meaning of Christmas can bring both healing and love when you least expect it.

Country Christmas by Lois Greiman
Emily Kane was tossed into the deep end of the foster care system years before, making her cautious of love and commitment. Securing her dream job at the Lazy Windmill, a working farm turned guest ranch, has begun the healing process. But the past can’t be shut out forever. Will familial reunions cause her to bolt back into hiding or will the magic of Christmas heal her heart and allow her to find her happily ever after?

The Christmas Crusade by Shanna Hatfield
Levi Clarke is on a crusade to create a merry Christmas for the patrons of Center for Hope community center. He’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen, even if it means seeking a sponsorship from Kat Kingsley, the woman too stubborn to realize she’s still in love with him.

The Christmas Charm by Susan R. Hughes
Gemma and Chris were childhood best friends until their lives took separate paths, both leading to heartache. Fifteen years later, a surprise reunion at Christmastime offers them a second chance at happiness.

Evergreen Romance by Julie Jarnagin.
After giving up her plans for college to care for her ailing grandmother, Jillian Rogers has a shot at being promoted to project manager at the local nursery, but the owner’s son comes back into town and tries to take the job. Monty Nelson spent the last five years playing triple-A baseball after college but never made it into the major leagues. Now, he has returned to Lakota, Oklahoma, driven to show his parents he can succeed, but they stick him with running the Christmas tree lot with smarty-pants Jillian Rogers. When old sparks reignite, Jillian and Monty must determine whether their romance will wither or if they’ve found everlasting love.

My Christmas Cupcake by Shaleen Kapil.
Clare thinks she is doomed to spend the holiday alone managing her new cupcake bakery until a handsome stranger appears just as she is closing up on Christmas Eve. Despite an instant attraction, Starfish Beach is a tourist town, and Clare has learned to be wary. How can she tempt Garrett, a university professor, to move to her small town when all she can offer are cupcakes?

A Christmas Spark by Ciara Knight
Sara Foster blames herself for her failed marriage. On Christmas Eve, she hides away in the family cabin, the same place her father abandoned her twenty years ago. Dalton Scot is unable to face the family holiday after his divorce and discovering he can never have children of his own, so he chooses Christmas Eve to fix his buddy’s cabin. Both search for a secluded spot to mourn their Christmas pasts, but instead are snowed in at the cabin for the holiday where they discover the power of the Christmas spark.

Sweet Blizzard by Milou Koenings.
He’s an ex-con, she’s a socialite. He saves her life when a blizzard strands them together, but she could make or break his. Will love make it all right in time for Christmas?

~*~

All 19 authors in this boxed set write sweet/wholesome romances and are members of Sweet Romance Reads, a group of authors whose books contain no sex, violence, or strong language. While the emotional stakes are high as the characters’ relationships grow, lovemaking is not described in these stories. Think movies rated G or PG. Therefore, Sweet Christmas Kisses 2 can be enjoyed by romance readers of any age.

Pull up a chair by a cozy fire, pour a cup of hot chocolate and allow these bestselling and award-winning authors to bring the holiday season alive as they warm your heart.

A tireless traveler, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Mona Risk, writes contemporary romance, medical romance, and romantic suspense novels, all simmering with emotion, sprinkled with a good dose of humor and set in the fascinating places she visited— or in Florida, her paradise on Earth.
Or connect with each of the Sweet Romance Reads Authors individually:

A tireless traveler, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Mona Risk, writes contemporary romance, medical romance, and romantic suspense novels, all simmering with emotion, sprinkled with a good dose of humor and set in the fascinating places she visited— or in Florida, her paradise on Earth.

Beate Boeker is a USA Today bestselling author with a passion for books that brim over with mischief & humor. She writes sweet sophisticated romantic fiction and mysteries, many of them set in beautiful Italy. While ‘Boeker’ means ‘books’ in a German dialect, her first name Beate can be translated as ‘Happy’ . . . and with a name that reads ‘Happy Books’, what else could she do but write novels with happy endings?

Denise Devine is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic comedy and she also writes inspirational fiction. She wrote her first book, a mystery, at thirteen and has been writing ever since. She writes about true love, happy endings and stories that touch your heart.

USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Raine English writes sweet small-town contemporary romances, as well as hotter paranormal and Gothic romantic suspense. She lives in New England with her family and her French bulldog, Bailey.Website | Newsletter | Facebook | Twitter

~*~

USA Today bestselling author Aileen Fish is an avid quilter and auto racing fan who finds there aren’t enough hours in a day/week/lifetime to stay up with her “to do” list. There is always another quilt or story begging to steal away attention from the others. Her books include The Bridgethorpe Brides series and the Small Town Sweethearts series.

Patricia Forsythe grew up in a small copper mining town in Arizona where she had the opportunity to observe a great many interesting people who have since turned up in her books. She has written many romances for Harlequin books (as Patricia Knoll), as well as indie-published books and enjoys creating the kinds of stories she hopes people want to read.

Grace Greene writes novels of romance, mystery and suspense. A Virginia native, Grace has family ties to North Carolina. She writes books set in both locations. The Emerald Isle, NC Stories series is set in North Carolina where “It’s always a good time for a love story and a trip to the beach.” Or travel down Virginia Country Roads and “Take a trip to love, mystery and suspense.”

USA Today bestselling author Roxanne Rustand is the author of thirty-five traditionally published novels, plus four indie novels. She was a Golden Heart finalist twice, and a Golden Heart winner in 1995. She has won two RT Magazine Reviewers’ Choice Awards, and was nominated for an RT Magazine Career Achievement Award. Her earlier books were secular, but she now writes sweet indie romance, and inspirational romance for Love Inspired.

USA Today bestselling author Magdalena Scott writes sweet romance and women’s fiction with small town settings. She invites readers into her world to find out what’s hidden just below the surface of those tiny dots you can barely see on the map—mystery, romance, and the occasional unexplained occurrence.

Kristin Wallace is a USA Today bestselling author of inspirational, contemporary and women’s fiction filled with “Love, Laughter and a Leap of Faith.” Her popular series include the Covington Falls Chronicles and Shellwater Key Tales.

Christine Bush is an award winning author of many sweet romances, mysteries, and novellas. When she’s not writing, she can be found teaching Psychology at a local college, working as a Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice, or (mostly) spending time with her twelve grandchildren.

Lois Greiman is an award winning author who has penned more than 50 heart-warming, laugh out loud novels. She currently lives on a small farm in Minnesota with her best friends, some of whom are human.

Convinced everyone deserves a happy ending, hopeless romantic Shanna Hatfield is out to make it happen one story at a time. Her bestselling sweet historical and contemporary romances combine humor and heart-pumping moments with characters that seem incredibly real.

Julie Jarnagin is a multi-published author of sweet and inspirational romance. She grew up in a small Oklahoma town where her family farmed and ranched, but these days she lives in a not-so-big city with her husband and two young sons who tolerate all her nerdy quirks.

Shaleen Kapil is new and upcoming author. Her first book, None But You, debuted in 2014. Her latest stories are built around the Emerald Coast of Florida, a favorite vacation spot. She created the Starfish Beach series to allow readers to enjoy a taste of romance in a laid-back beach setting.

Ciara Knight writes ‘a little bit of edge and a lot of heart’ with her bestselling sweet romance and young adult stories that have topped the Amazon charts. When not writing, Ciara enjoys her own happily ever after with her husband and three sons living in suburbia, GA.

Milou Koenings writes heartwarming romance novels because she believes sweet stories with happy endings are like chocolate – they bring joy to the world and so make it a better place. She’s lived all over the world, working as an editor and newspaper columnist, but loves staying home with her family most of all.

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About Me

I am a very free spirit with a gypsy soul. I am a true NYer, born & bred now transplanted in FL.. I'm rather eclectic, unique (referred to as weird, but that's ok, because mundane doesn't suit me, lol) and I always have & always will dance to the beat of my own drum. I'm an avid reader, Pinterest-a-holic & rather new blogger. My passions are animals, reading, singing & COFFEE!!! I've already decided I don't want to be an adult and have embraced my "inner child". I'm 50+ and Fabulous!!! If you'd like to know anything else just ask (not saying I'll tell ya, but doesn't hurt to try, LOL just kidding) Oh also have a Black Belt in Sarcasm.....